Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything up to Jews and Chinese Food is fair game. Past that, it's just where my mind takes over.
Teaser: When Rory and Logan's arrangement goes prematurely sour, his friends take it upon themselves to intervene. Sequel to Keeping it Casual
Story Title: Nothing A Good Friend Wouldn't Do
Chapter Title: Night In New York
"So, this is The Plaza?"
He looked at her as they'd just stepped through the main doors to the hotel lobby. He loved seeing things through her fresh eyes. He'd long ago lost the sense of grandeur that should be appreciated in his daily settings. She was making him slow down and take notice for the first time in a long time.
"First time here?"
"Mom and I can never afford to stay overnight in the City. We always promise that we will next time, but we never have the luxury of extra cash."
"That won't be a consideration tonight," he promised as he stepped up to the desk.
"Good evening, Sir."
"Good evening. What's the best suite you have available tonight?"
"You have your pick, Sir."
Logan nodded. "Anything with a terrace and a view of the Park."
"Very good. Any bags?"
"Just us," he smiled, handing over his credit card. Rory was only half-listening. She took in her surroundings as the evening's events scrolled through her mind. She'd no idea how to approach her mother, what to say to her grandparents—and she couldn't even fathom why they had the need to flee from Logan's family. She followed him up to their suite, still contemplating how to put everything to rights.
That is, until she saw the suite. The words in her vocabulary seemed too banal to properly describe it. She'd never seen anything so lavish in her life.
"This is too much," she uttered, moving further into the main room, taking note of the French doors that opened onto their terraced view.
"What is much?" he shrugged, causing her to turn suddenly and stare at him. Her face held a pensive expression, and it continued to unnerve him until she finally spoke again.
"We're outlaws; we should be sleeping in a ditch or a seedy motel or something, using cheesy aliases."
"If that's the scenario you want to act out, I will be more than happy to oblige any fantasies you have," he smiled, stepping closer to her.
"We just needed somewhere to crash for the night, not a 2,000 square foot luxury suite."
"It has a bed and no one knows we're here."
She saw his logic, but her scale was nowhere as large as his. Not that she wasn't a big thinker; she just wasn't capable of waste.
"True."
"So, you hungry?" he asked, moving to the phone.
"Starved," she nodded, relenting as he put a call in to room service.
XXXX
She flopped on the king-sized bed, after having finished their dinner out on the terrace while enjoying the magnificent view of Central Park. Neither had yet brought up the inevitable topic—their families.
But now, as he came to rest beside her, moving his hand up the side of her body, she couldn't hold it back any longer. She turned in towards him, a sign to him that she was responding to his touch. He leaned in to kiss her, but she ducked her head down, bringing only her eyes up to look at him.
"Logan, we need to talk about this."
"You promised to let me de-stress you; talking about this will just make you worry. You worry too much," he coaxed.
"We have a dozen people up in arms over the fact that we are sitting here right now, hiding in a secret locale, I might add."
"Finn and Colin know where we are," he countered.
"How?"
"Dad's barring them in our room, trying to get my whereabouts out of them. They're the ones that told me not to come back tonight."
She shook her head, and put her hand on his chest. "This is insane."
"Rory," he sighed.
"No, look at us! Your friends have had to put up with all of this insanity, my mother is out of her mind, and your parents are taking people hostage— all for what?"
"For us to get a minute alone, evidently to argue," he said pointedly.
"Why aren't you taking this seriously? Is this a game to you?"
"No, it's not a game. I'm doing all of this to be with you!"
"And how long until it gets to be too much? Until you decide that it's not worth putting your friendships in jeopardy to fuck me one more time? Or until your family, which I can only guess wants to disown you or something of the sort, wins out and you stop taking my calls? Or when I can't get my mother to look me in the eye anymore, and I can't. . ." she ranted.
"You really don't know why I'm doing all of this, do you? I'm not willing to let anyone get between us—they all just need to realize that this is what is important to me."
"How can you know that this is worth jeopardizing everything else?" she held his gaze, not wanting to break her momentum with allowing timidity to seep in.
"You knew this wouldn't be easy. You want to give up now, just because it's getting hard?"
"No, but, is this…Is it worth it?" she asked, not sure if she were ready for whatever his answer might be.
"You tell me," he said quickly, moving over her, turning her onto her back as he crashed into her. He knew that she couldn't deny what was developing between them. He sank into her, and he caught her moans in the back of his throat. She pressed up against him, not to push him away, but to drive her need. He continued to kiss her, not wanting to allow her breath, thought, or negation. She wrapped one leg around his, anchoring him to her. His lips made their way down to her ear, sucking in the skin just below her earlobe.
"You want to give up this?"
"No," she breathed as he bit down lightly on her soft lobe.
"Tell me you can walk away from me, right now, and I won't argue with you," his hands slipped up along the sides of her breasts, underneath her shirt, with just enough pressure to make her shudder.
"Tell me this is real."
Her request wasn't what he expected—hell, he had no idea what to expect anymore. Everything with her was off the charts. He moved a hand up to her face, cupping her cheek while looking into her hopeful eyes.
"This is real."
She pulled his head down with two hands, showing him that the only place she wanted him was right where he was. She didn't have to push all the other troubling thoughts out of her mind—his words had cleared it all out for her.
XXXX
"We should make it up to Colin and Finn," she said suddenly, as he ran his fingers through her hair. She was staring up at the ceiling, the sheet draped over her much in the same fashion that she was currently draped over him. It was the middle of the night, and they were no where near sleep.
"How?"
"Well, they've done so much for us, and now with your dad ruining their night, I feel like we should do something nice for them."
"We could invite everyone down here tomorrow, stay an extra night—have a party."
She looked up at him and smiled. "You're just trying to put off talking to your family."
"I can call my father from anywhere. There's no way I'm going to see him tomorrow anyway. I need to give him some cool down time. Storming the campus was not the calmest thing he's ever done—not the most rash, either, sadly enough."
She nodded, and looked at him with scrutiny. "So, what are you going to say?"
"Party at the Plaza, don't forget the booze?"
"To your dad."
"Oh, to my father! Silly me," he said, kissing the top of her head.
"Logan, I'm serious."
"Don't worry about that."
"How can they dislike me, they haven't even met me. And they love my grandparents."
He sighed, pulling his arm around her tighter. "It's not that they don't like you. It's that they don't think you will fit into their whole evil plan."
"Evil plan?"
"The one that includes my taking over the empire that is the family business."
"But I'm a journalist. Who better to fit into your family than a journalist?"
"If you were their son, no one. But as it is, I'm showing a quarter of the interest in taking over the position that they would find acceptable, and having a potential wife that wants to work instead of keep my social obligations in order is just the straw that is breaking the old camel's back."
She tried to ignore the potential wife comment—after all their problem was from their looking at her as such. In order for them to date, evidently they had to pass some sort of martial compatibility test. It didn't make sense, but here they were, discussing it.
"That's the most backwards, misogynistic," she began her rant, and he cut her off.
"You're preaching to the choir here."
"Then how can you even,"
"I can't. I'm going to tell him that he has no control over this."
"And what good will that do?"
"It will either get me disowned, or called a misguided idiot."
"Logan!" she chastised him for making light of his own words.
"Don't worry, I'm their only son, I won't get disowned. It would be frowned upon."
She sighed, shaking her head at the information that made her head hurt.
"What are you going to say to your mom?" he ventured, knowing that was weighing on her as well.
"I'm going to tell her that she is going to have to be respectful of you if she's going to see me," she said quietly, hating the words she had to speak.
"At least you know she means well."
"She hasn't given you a chance. She's afraid that you'll get me pregnant and leave. Or break my heart and leave. She doesn't trust men, especially men with money and charm."
"So, that's where you got it from, huh?" he asked playfully.
"I'm here now, aren't I?"
"You are. I still can't quite believe it, but you are."
She was quiet, not having anything else to add. This was a bigger mess than she'd thought it could be, and all due to ignorance. It was unthinkable, considering the amount of highly educated, powerful people that were involved in what might be the insurmountable roadblock to what might be the greatest romance of her life.
"So, party here, tomorrow night?"
"It's the least we could do."
"I'm sure Finn will agree with that statement."
She giggled, feeling lighter just for not talking about their families anymore. She wanted to believe that everyone would come to realize that this wouldn't be the end of bright dreams for their futures, but rather the beginning of what might be the fulfilling of those dreams. They wouldn't give it up without a fight, not after coming this far. His friends might take a hit out on them if they tried. She reached up and kissed him.
"What was that for?"
"For having good taste in friends."
"When do I get to meet your friends?"
"You've met Marty and Paris," she said.
"You have more than two friends."
"Well, you do need to meet Lane. She's the one that has to approve of you, really. I should have told you from the beginning. If you think Lorelai was tough," she shook her head sadly, clearly messing with him.
"So, invite her tomorrow, too."
"Seriously?"
"We have but one rule at these parties—the more, the merrier."
"Okay, but you asked for it," she yawned, the long hours of this hellish day catching up with her. It was becoming routine, waking up in his arms and falling asleep in them as well. He reached out to turn off the light, and they continued the routine.
